The Longest Day
by Cliodna
Summary: There is something linking Harry and Hermione. (finished)
1. Honest Mistakes

Disclaimer: I own nothing. 

**Authors Note: **This fic takes place in 5th year. During summer, Dumbledore sent Harry to an Auror camp so he could train a bit, and so he could get his mind off of the events that took place in 4th year. Hermione accompanied him to camp, but Ron could not as he went with his family to visit Charlie in Romania. I might one day write a prequel to this….

v **The Longest Day**

Chapter 1: Honest Mistakes 

"What are you doing?" Moaning Myrtle inquired of the three hunched figures, sitting quietly in the floor of her bathroom, meticulously brewing some sort of potion.

"We are brewing potions." Harry said mater of factly.

"Obviously. What I meant was, what _kind_ of a potion?" the ghost asked in an exasperated tone.  "You are intruding my haunting grounds, I should be entitled to know what you three are up too!" 

"Myrtle, this is the school's bathroom, you are here because there is no way to make you leave, so sod off won't you!!!" Ron yelled at her, annoyed.

Myrtle began sobbing again, dove into her toilet, and closed the lid. You could faintly hear the echo of her sobs from beneath the lid.

"Jeez Ron, you didn't have to be so hard on her!" Harry told him. Ron just rolled his eyes.

"Listen, we'll worry about Myrtle later, we have to finish this!" Hermione yelled at them. 

The Trio was working on two separate potions. Ron was practice making Polyjuice Potion, preparing himself for his next Potions exam (he didn't want to get another howler from his mother!) Harry and Hermione were working on a new potion. The Concientus Cogito Potion allows you to share your thoughts with others, depending on the number of people you share the potion with. Ron didn't want to participate in this particular experiment, for fear Hermione would find out about his more than friendly feelings for her. Besides, the point of this potion was for Harry's protection, although they refused to acknowledge this. The Dark Times were coming, they felt it, Voldemort was just buying time until he re-emerged, and they needed a way to keep in contact with Harry in case…well…in case something happened. 

"All right, I think that about does it!" Hermione exclaimed proudly as she presented the finished product to her friends. 

"Eww gross!" Ron yelled. "It looks all muddy and yucky. Smells funny too."  As he said this, he glanced at his own concoction. "Doesn't look any different than mine does." 

"Wait a sec. Is it supposed to look like that?" Harry asked, perplexed.

Hermione looked grave. "No, actually its not. The book says It's supposed to have a redish glow. Great Wizards! I forgot the..."

"Dragonwheat." Harry echoed. "We have to go back to Snape's secret stash." 

Earlier that week Harry and Hermione had gone to "borrow" the ingredients needed to perform the potion from Snape's secret stash, located in his office. Ron created a diversion while Harry and Hermione, under Harry's Invisibility Cloak, had located the necessary ingredients, and had gotten out unscathed. They were, however, almost caught when Snape felt he bumped into something, that wasn't actually there. Snape dismissed it however, because he was busy with grading midterm papers.  

"We almost got caught the last time!" Harry yelled at her. "Let's just forget this stupid project. I don't want you guys getting in trouble just to protect me!" The three of them stood silent. This was the first time anyone of them had voiced the real reason for this "experiment." 

"Harry…please." Hermione begged, tears starting to form in her eyes, her lower lip trembling.  

Harry's eyes softened a bit. He couldn't resist her. He never could.  "Alright," he conceded, "but don't say I didn't warn you." 

Harry and Hermione began to get up and they saw that Ron was staying seated, intent on getting the Polyjuice Potion correct without the help of Harry and Hermione, who mastered this potion already. 

"Ron are you coming?" asked Harry. 

Ron looked at them with a remorseful look. "Sorry guys, I have to get good marks in Potions this semester! Remember the Howler?"  he asked Harry with a meaningful look.

Of course Harry remembered the Howler. It was probably the most humiliating thing to receive, especially since you received it in front of _everyone_.  Harry understood his friend's plight.

"Don't worry about it Ron. I'm sure the two of us will manage." 

With this, Harry and Hermione left.

Ron looked around the room, loneliness creeping in. Then he heard Myrtle's quiet sob. "Well Myrtle," he spoke with a sigh, "I guess I just you, me, and the Potions text." 

Ron turned back to his potion. He worked fixedly on his potion for what seemed like an eternity. Then Ron did something he wasn't supposed to do. He made a mistake. A very big mistake!

 "Yes! Now all I have to do is add…oh bloody hell! What am I gonna tell Harry and Hermione?" 

Ron accidentally poured his unfinished Polyjuice Potion into the wrong cauldron. He accidentally poured it into Harry's and Hermione's  Concientus Cogito Potion. 

"I messed up their potion!" he thought. "After all the trouble they went through, they're really gonna be angry!" 

At that moment, Harry and Hermione stumbled into the room, both with a pink flush to their cheeks and breathing heavily. 

"We got it!" Hermione yelled triumphantly.

"How…how…did…you…umm…" Ron stammered, with a guilty glint in his eye. 

"You mean how did we get it?" Harry asked, on the verge of laughter. He finally caved. 

Hermione continued, on the verge of giggling herself. "Let's just say we got a lot of help from a boggart!"

At this she couldn't control it any longer, and she and Harry rolled on the floor in fits of laughter.

_Thank Merlin we put Soundproofing Charms around the bathroom_, Ron though. _The whole school would hear them if we didn't! They won't be laughing much longer,_ he thought grimly, even though he couldn't help smile at them.  

"What happened?" Ron finally asked.

"Well," Harry said, calming his laughter a bit. "We didn't know what to do because we didn't have anyone to divert Snape," said Harry. 

Ron flushed scarlet.

Hermione continued, "So we figured we might just go for it without any diversion! Stupid plan really, but it worked!"  At this they both erupted into another fit of giggles. When they finally calmed themselves, they continued the story. 

"The plan was to go into Snape's office while he was out or something. We took so long because we had to hold a stakeout. Harry got restless when nothing happened and in a shocking display of chivalry (stupidity actually), he pulled the Invisibility Cloak off me (which we used in the stakeout), kept it on himself, and ran into Snape's office determined to get the Dragonwheat. When he didn't come out quickly, I got worried, so I crept close to the door, luckily it was ajar, and peaked inside. All I saw was Snape busily grading papers with a scowl on his face, (he was probably grading Gryffindor). Anyway, I assumed Harry was in a deep spot since nothing was happening and he wasn't out yet."   

"Turns out her instinct was right!" Harry continued "He keeps his secret stash in the drawer of his desk, where he was grading papers. I crept close to the drawer and opened it, but it made a noise when I opened it. He heard it and got alarmed, and made a motion to stand up on the side I was on so I quickly dove under his desk to avoid him colliding with me. He found nothing strange and mumbled something about Fire Whiskey (Hermione gave a little giggle at this) and I found myself stuck under his desk." 

"Knowing something was wrong I looked around the room to see if I could cause some sort of distraction when I saw something peeking out of Snape's closet, that was also ajar."

"It was a boggart!" They both cried at once! 

"I opened the door with my wand and…" At this Hermione erupted into another fit of laughter.

"Snape was caught by surprise when it jumped out," Harry said, feeling the fits of laughter bounding on him.

"You want to know what Snape's biggest fear is?" Hermione asked between giggles. 

"The boggart turned into Dumbledor, telling Snape his application for Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had been declined again and…"   

Harry couldn't continue, the shocked look on Snape's face still in his mind. 

"and he was condemned to teaching the Gryffindors Potions for an eternity! At this the Trio collapsed into fits of laughter." 

"He…he…was so surprised he couldn't get any of his spells correct!" Harry stumbled between giggles.

"It was so funny seeing him incapacitated!" Hermione giggled. 

After another few moments of childish laughter, Hermione got that "Determined Hermione" look on her face. 

"Alright!" She said, "We've got to finish the potion!" 

She added the Dragonwheat and _voila_! The potion turned its correct shade of glowing red. 

"Now all we have to do is drop one tiny sprinkle of each others blood and drink!" She said with a smile on her face as she poured some of the potion into a chalice.

She took out the needle and pricked her finger. She let a little bit of her blood drip into the chalice, then she handed the needle and the chalice to Harry as he did the same thing. 

"You guys…umm…" Ron stammered, but he was too late. Hermione had taken the first drink. 

"Yuck!" She exclaimed, "You take it now." She handed the chalice to Harry.

"Harry…I don't think…" Ron said quietly, as Harry raised the chalice to his lips and completed the ritual. 

Harry and Hermione stared at each other. 

"I don't feel any different," Harry said, "maybe you have to wait a while."

Hermione was skimming through the text. "It didn't work," she said. "The book said the results would be instantaneous."  She had a dismayed look on her face. Hermione never failed at anything. 

Ron felt so guilty, especially as he saw the look on Hermione's face. Finally, he caved. "Its my fault!" He said. "I accidentally mixed my unfinished potion with yours. I'm sorry." He said.

Contrary to what Ron thought Hermione would do to him, (which involved being turned into some sort of rodent,) Hermione smiled. "Its ok Ron, at least I know it didn't fail because of me!" She said, beaming. 

Ron looked at Harry. Harry smiled as he looked at the remorseful look on his best friend's face. "Its all right you klutzy git! But next time Hermione gets an idea, you're gonna be the one to get the ingredients!" 

At this, The Trio laughed, and packed up to go back to Gryffindor Tower. 


	2. Concientus Cogito

_Chapter 2:_ Concientus Cogito 

_Why does my body ache like I just ran the 100-meter run? _Harry thought to himself as he woke up that fateful morning. _And why do I feel my brain was put into a blender? _He groaned, and turned around slightly. He suddenly felt strange. He took off the covers and looked down at his body. _Breasts? When did I grow breasts? _He ran his hand through his hair as he usually does when panicked. _I have long curly brown hair? Oh-my-God. _Now the picture was beginning to get clearer in his head as his growing panic made his groggy head alert. He got up to look in the mirror. _Where is the mirror? _He thought to himself, as he soon realized that he wasn't in his own room. Out of curiosity he went to check one of the other beds. _Maybe I'm going crazy. _He thought. _Maybe it's all a dream. _Sure enough, when he silently pulled away one of the curtains of the other beds he found Parvati Patil, dreaming away with a smile on her face. _Oh my God! _Harry thought as he finally located a mirror on Hermione's dresser. He picked up the mirror and sure enough, he didn't find his face. _I need to lay down. _He decided. All of a sudden he heard a silent voice. 

_*Harry*  _

He looked around the room, but he saw everything was normal. 

_*Harry!*_

_Hermione!_ He thought! _Where are you?_

_*In your body!*_ He heard her say. 

_*You can hear me?*  _He thought back to her. *_Did the Concientus Cogito Potion really work?*_

_*Apparently it did!* _Hermione yelled at him. _*But it worked twice as good_. _Where in the text did it say something like this would happen?* _

Harry thought back to the previous days affairs. It was at the tip of his head, he just couldn't seem to_…"Its my fault!" _He heard a voice say. "_I accidentally mixed some of my unfinished potion with yours. I'm sorry." _

_*Ron*  _Harry thought to her.

_*Ron? What does he have…* _Then it clicked in her head. _*The Polyjuice Potion. The…*_

_*…one he accidentally mixed with ours.* _Harry finished_. _

_*But why didn't we turn into…*_

_*It was unfinished remember? He hadn't added the last ingredient, then we added our blood and…*_

_*…it changed us into each other.*  _Hermione sighed._ *What are we gonna do?*  _Hermione asked. _*I could kill Ron!* _

_*We are not telling Ron!* _Harry yelled.

****

_*What? Why? We never keep sec…*_

_*I said we are not!*_

_*But WHY?*_

_*Don't you get it? If we tell him about him messing up our potion he'll be crushed! He'll blame himself and I don't want him to feel worse than he already does. Besides, the more people we tell the more chances we have of it leaking out. Nope, I won't have it.*_

Harry didn't want to tell her the real reason. Ron had a crush on Hermione. Ron wouldn't react to thrilled to hear this.

Hermione resigned herself. _*All right. But you do know he'll be able to tell something is off. He's Ron, you are his best friend, he knows you like he knows his brothers. He'll know, jut the way he can tell apart Fred and George.*_

 _*Hermione, the Polyjuice Potion only lasts an hour. It will wear off soon enough. *_

_*All right, best we get ready for class. See you in the Great Hall!* _ __

But just as they were about to change the reality of them struck them. 

_*Har…*  *Herm*_  they called each other at the same time. 

_*How are we gonna do this?*_ Hermione asked.  

She was referring to the fact that she had to change clothes. And in order to that she had to undress herself. Only that herself wasn't herself. Harry was Herself. Even worse was the fact that Harry had to change to, and she didn't relish the thought of Harry seeing her in the buff.  

_*Ok…what if we clothe each other?* _Harry suggested.

_*Excuse me?* _

_*You heard me. It'll be like clothing ourselves, only, different. You know what I mean. And the person being clothed keeps their eyes closed so as not to see anything.* _

Harry thought his plan was a great plan, but Hermione thought otherwise. 

*And where do you suppose this plan will take action? If we do it in any of each others' dormitories, or their bathrooms, we'll risk getting caught by people, and you know what people would think if they saw us doing that.* Hermione thought to him, the thought making her ears turn slightly pink. 

_*Hermione.*_

_*What?*_

_*We're prefects!*_

_*So?*_

_*We'll do it in the prefects' bathroom!*_

_*But what if another prefect happens to …*_

_*We'll do it while the prefects are on duty in the Great Hall during breakfast.*_

_*Ohh…Ok. Which one, yours or mine?*_

_*Yours. You'll use my Invisibility Cloak to sneak in. What is your password?*_

_* Treacle Tart. People are starting to wake up. We have to hurry up. What excuse should we give Ron as to why we are going late to breakfast?*_

****

_*Stomach ache because of the weird potion.*_

_*Way to not make him feel guilty.*_

_*All right Miss Brainy, you think of something.*_

Hermione was silent.

_*Ok, we'll go with that.*_

Harry grinned. _*Look, I'll tell you when to go ok? Just wait there and feign stomachache until I tell you. I'll be in here doing the same thing. Then I'll tell Parvati to tell Ron all right? *_

_*Ok*_

_*Polyjuice Potion wears off quickly, just keep telling yourself that. *_

_*Ok. Shut up Harry, Ron is waking up*_

Harry heard their whole conversation.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Harry get up! We're gonna be…"

"Ohhhhhhhhh…owww…can't get up…can't get…" 

"Harry are you ok?" Ron asked with a concern look. 

"I think I have a stomach ache."

"I'll go tell Madame P…"

"NO!" 

"Why not?" 

"My stomach hurts because of yesterday's _thing._" She said, discretion abound because of the gathering crowd that was Dean, Seamus, and Neville.  

Ron, catching the drift…."Ohhh, yesterday's thing…look Harr, I'm sorry I…"

"Ron, its ok! I'll just miss breakfast, no big. I'll be there for Transfiguration, don't worry about me."

"Do you want me to stay with…"

"NO! I mean…no…I'm not a pretty site, especially when I begin barfing and…"

"Oh well Harry! I'll take your word…I'll just get ready and go now ok bye!" 

Harry had to stifle laughter to not rouse the sleeping girls. 

_*Very good **Harry**.* _

Hermione beamed. 

_*Why thank you **Hermione**.* _

Parvati and Lavender accepted _Harry's_ excuses without incident. Ron, having heard enough about barfing, left without complaint. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

*Ok, they all left now, since the prefects are usually there before breakfast, they should all be there now, and the bathrooms empty. Your password is Treacle Tart, right?*

*Right*

*Ok, I'll go first, stay a couple of feet behind me in my Invisibility Cloak. It's in the bottom of my trunk along with my clothes, and my books for Transfiguration.*

The plan went as expected. Harry, as Hermione, stepped out of the dormitory and into the empty Gryffindor common rooms and waited to hear from Hermione.   

*I'm here.* He heard her say, and they went off. 

They reached the Girls' Prefects' Bathroom and were allowed in. 

Hermione took off the cloak.

"Ok" she said. "I have your clothes and books."

"Oh no." Thought Harry. "I was so busy planning it all that I forgot to bring your clothes! I did bring your books, however and…"

"This is fresh!" Hermione yelled. "You have to go back and get them in. Merlin knows I don't want myself to be running around in a bathrobe all day!"  

So Harry stumbled out of the bathroom and ran all the way back to the tower up the spiraled staircase into the girls dormitory. 

*Where are your clothes?* He asked her.

*In the dresser in front of my bed.*

Harry began pulling the drawers out and found things that didn't resemble clothing. 

*What is this?*  He asked her.

She blushed bright pink because she knew what he was referring to. 

*It's called a bra Harry. They support girls' umm…*

*Breasts?*  

*Right. Honestly Harry you don't know these things?* 

*Well, who was I to talk too? Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon hated me and no girl would go near Dudley.*

*You mean to tell me you don't have any girl, friends or any girlfriends waiting for you at home?* 

Hermione never felt anything more than friendship towards Harry, so why did her heart speed up in expectation of his answer? 

*No one at school would go near me in fear of Dudley.*

Hermione finally understood the harsh reality that was his life. She knew that his family didn't love him, but to live without friends? I may be an insufferable, bossy, know it all, but at least I have a family who loves me and friends who care about me. 

*I have friends and a family who loves me now too Hermione. You, Ron, the rest of the Weasleys, Sirius, Lupin, and Dumbledor are all the friends and family I need.*

Hermione felt shocked. Then she remembered. He can hear my thoughts. We have no privacy. We share everything.  

*Exactly. So can you hush up now and tell me what I should bring?*

Hermione told him and he quickly got everything and ran back to the bathroom. Hermione was sitting on the floor when he finally arrived. 

"We have half an hour. We have to hurry." Hermione said.

"Who should go first?"

"I'll dress you…I mean me…." Hermione stammered. "If we take too long, I don't want myself to be late." 

Hermione walked up to herself…to Harry and was about to take off her pink bathrobe when she remembered. "Close your eyes!" 

Harry closed his eyes. "Sorry." He mumbled. 

Hermione resumed her position; she reached for the belt of the bathrobe and untied the knot. She was vaguely aware of the speed of her heart…and of his…

The bathrobe fell to the floor. 

"I can't do this." Hermione told him.

"Why not? Its you, you're undressing yourself." 

"I know its me but its not, you know? No matter whose body it is you inhabit it…so it's like undressing you." 

"Jesus Hermione…here…" At this Harry took of the remaining clothing. 

"There! I'm naked…you're naked…oh my God!"  

Harry had finally realized that the wall on the opposite side was made of mirrors. He closed his eyes immediately…. "I'm sorry Herm-"

"Harry you big prat!" Hermione yelled as she began to rip off Harry's close as well. 

"Ha! Now we're both naked!" Hermione exclaimed as she turned around and looked at Harry…at herself…in the mirrors. 

"Oh boy!" Hermione gushed…as Harry blushed a scarlet so deep you'd think that they pulled a Carrie on him. 

"Ok, enough of this turn around." Harry said as he whirled her around and threw his clothes at her. "We've both seen each other naked, happy?Kinda took the point out of the plan didn't it?"  

Hermione couldn't stop the giggles from emerging. 

"Wow Harry!" She screamed in delight! "I never knew you were SO…"

"Well endowed?" Harry finished for her "Well you aren't so bad yourself." 

At this Hermione sobered, realizing that he also had seen her naked. 

"I'm gonna kill you Potter!"

"Not until after breakfast. I'm starving." He told her as they finished dressing. "Come on, let's go to the Great Hall and grab a quick breakfast before Double Transfiguration." 

When they finally finished, he grabbed her hand and escorted her to the Great Hall.


	3. Being You

**Chapter 3: Being You **

Once they got to the Great Hall, Ron bombarded them with guilty questions. 

"How are you guys? How do you feel? Did it hurt really bad. Is it finally over? Do you think it was a timed thing? You seemed to have recovered very well and quite at the same time."

Harry and Hermione seemed to mumble most of their answers. 

"We're fine, it didn't hurt that much, now we're ok, forget about it." 

Ron seemed to relax a little.

"So, you guys ready for our Transfiguration exam?"

Ron saw Harry tense up. "Harry are you alright?" 

Hermione pasted a smile on. "I'm fine." She said. * Harry? We have a Transfiguration exam! I completely forgot what with all this! You're gonna fail it for me, I know you are! You didn't study! You opted on letting Ron win you at Wizard's Chess and…*

*Hermione, our minds are linked, just tell me how to do it all right? *

Hermione let out some tense breath. 

* You're supposed to pretend you're me, remember? *  Harry thought to Hermione. *When have I ever worried about an exam? *  

Hermione sighed to herself. It would be a miracle the day that Harold James Potter finally worries about an exam…

"Would you like my bacon Harry?" Neville asked Hermione.

"Blech no! I hate bacon!"

*Hermione. *

*What is it? Can't a girl eat in peace? *

*Hermione, I like bacon, bacon is my favorite breakfast food. *

Hermione flushed a bit and turned to look at Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neville, who were all staring at her as if she just turned into a troll. 

"Harry I thought bacon was your favorite?" Asked Ron with a suspicious glint in his eye.

"Oh! Bacon! Umm…I decided that it's too unhealthy to eat… " Hermione gave a weak smile. 

"Its about time you realized that Harold James Potter!" Harry said with the most Hermione-ish bossy tone. "Every morning, eating that junk. Tsk."  

This made Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus forget about Harry, and turn to their own bacon in contemplation. 

Hermione smiled at herself. 

*Thanks. * She thought to him.

*No problem. *

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Alright everyone. Who can transfigure this snail into a toad?" Prof. McGonagall asked her 5th year Transfiguration class. She was surprised to see that the first, and only, hand belonged to Harry Potter. When she turned to look at Hermione Granger, she was even more shocked to see that her hand wasn't even up, and that she was staring straight ahead, her ears a nice shade of pink. This drastic change rendered Prof. McGonagall speechless. As soon as she composed herself she finally let Harry Transfigure the creature. She saw Mr. Potter staring at the creature in concentration waved his wand and before she knew it, there stood a toad in its place. "Very well Mr. Potter." She turned to stare at Hermione. "Miss Granger, are you all right?" 

Harry turned pink and stumbled "I'm…fine Prof. McGonagall…. quite fine thank you." 

Ron gave Hermione an amused look and she in turn, yelled at Harry. 

*Why didn't you raise your hand? * 

*Why did you raise your hand? *

They were both silent for a moment. 

*Do you think she suspects?* Hermione asked quietly.

*I doubt it,*  he reassured, although he wasn't sure he was sure. 

Both seemingly oblivious to the rest of the world, neither of them noticed Prof. McGonagall addressing Hermione.

"Miss Granger…Miss Granger…MISS GRANGER!"

At this both Harry and Hermione's head shot up. 

"Yes Professor?" Harry asked.

"Miss Granger, prove to me that you are well by turning this snail into a toad." 

Harry gave Hermione an alarmed look. 

*Help Me! *

*Don't worry. It's easy. Just look at the snail and picture a toad. Say **Ciris,** and channel your energy to your wand and direct it at the snail. Its simple. *  

Harry did as Hermione coached, and before breaking a sweat he had, to his amazement, turned the snail into a toad. 

"Very good Miss Granger, as usual." Prof. McGonagall told Harry.

Harry turned to look at Hermione, a triumphant smile on his lips. She in turned gave him a wide smile.    

The rest of the class period went by uneventful. Professor McGonagall seemed to have been suspicious at first, but those thoughts fell from her face as she saw Harry, as Hermione, perform even faster and better as the progression of class. 

"Miss Granger, you have done exceptionally well today, as have you Mr. Pottter. 10 points to Griffyndor for such effort." 

Harry and Hermione walked out of class laughing, feeling content and lightheaded. 

*We did it! We actually did it! McGonagall bought it!* Harry danced in his head. 

*I know. You won't believe how relieved I feel!* Hermione laughed back. 

Meanwhile Ron walked out of class behind the delighted duo, silent. Why do they keep staring at each other like that? He thought, jealousy beginning to sink in. 

"We have break right now, then Double Potions." Ron said with a look of annoyance in his eyes. "I hate having Double Potions! Its such a boring class!"

But this sudden outburst from Ron caused Harry and Hermione to come back down to earth. 

*Double Potion. I forgot! We won't survive that class Hermione. Transfiguration is one thing, but Potions is totally different!*   

*Relax Harry! We're linked up, we'll just sit down together and be partners in Potions today ok?*

Harry looked indignant. *What about Ron? Ron is always my partner? Don't you think he'll notice something is off?* 

*Don't you see he has already noticed?*

Harry turned to look at Ron, and sure enough, he saw a look on his face that he couldn't quite read. That was quite weird. Harry could always read Ron's face. 

*If he already suspects why make him suspect more? You will be his partner all right?*

*Who would you rather have find out the truth, Ron or Snape?*

At this Harry stood dead in his tracks. 

*All right. I'll tell Ron that I want to switch partners for today because I believe that I'm, **you'r**e, in danger of failing Potions, worse than he is. Ok?*

Hermione sighed. Relief evident in her face. 

"Lets go get our books." Ron said, breaking the silence.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Back in Gryffindor Tower, Harry asked Ron the million-dollar question. 

"Ron can Harry be my partner today?" Harry asked him.

"Why?" Ron asked, with a suspicious glint in his eye.

"Its just that, I think Harry needs my help in Potions, Snape won't get off his case and all and I think that if I helped him he wouldn't mess up so much and Snape wouldn't take so many points off…"

"Ah! I get it. Sure, you can have Harry today. But that means I'm stuck with Neville doesn't it?" 

"I'm sorry Ron."

"Its ok, old bloke hasn't been doing that bad this year."

Remarkably Neville hadn't been that much of a klutz that year. He hadn't totally gotten over his  klutziness, but it was an improvement to previous years. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

*So he fell for it?*  Hermione asked Harry once he was done talking to Ron.

*Yeah. We're all set.* 

Sure enough when break was over and they entered the Potions dungeon they went to sit to the arranged places. Neville gave Ron a questioning gaze. 

"Harry needs help in Potions and Hermione volunteered." 

Neville accepted this as easily as Ron did and all began their work.

Remarkably, Neville worked better than usual, probably because he wasn't as nervous with Ron as his partner, since he knew Ron wasn't the intelligent, bossy, impatient Hermione. Ron worked better as well, probably because he felt superior in his knowledge of Potions. 

Hermione and Harry were working as good and efficiently as ever. Snape and Draco weren't blind to catch notice. 

"I see that working with your little girlfriend has improved your Potions making  Potter." Malfoy said maliciously. 

At this the Slytherins burst into laughter.

Harry and Hermione both turned red, and Ron as well, but for an entirely different reason.   

Snape however was amazed at what the change of partners had created. 

"Mr. Potter will this change be permanent?" He asked. 

"No, not really, I just needed Herm's help and…"

"I am not one to assign seats to my students, but in this case I think I might. I would like this changed seat arrangement to be permanent. I have noticed that without Mr. Weasley, you Mr. Potter, are less inclined to cause a ruckus."  

Snape made it sound like his motives were for his own good, but that was because he didn't want them to realize he was impressed with their new work ethic. 

Harry and Hermione acted as if this didn't faze them, but secretly Hermione was pleased, Harry however felt torn. He was happy to be working with Hermione, but what about Ron? 

Ron was sitting with Neville, mixing vervain with fern seed, glowering. On one hand, he was jealous at the closeness Harry and Hermione have seemed to be experiencing since their summer at Auror Camp together. But he was happy that with Neville he might actually get a good grade in Potions. 

At the end of Potions the Trio exited the dungeon in a tense state. 

"Ron, are you ok with all of this?" Hermione asked him.

"I'm fine Harry, honest! Oddly enough I think I work better with Neville than I do with you!" 

The Trio laughed at this and went off toward the Great Hall for lunch. Once they finished their lunch, they had a little bit of time before Charms. They headed toward Gryffindor Tower. Once there Ron, deciding to put off homework, went to play Exploding Snap with Dean Thomas. Harry and Hermione went and sat together on one of the overstuffed couches, Harry with his head in a Hermione's Transfiguration textbook, and Hermione with Harry's Quidditch Through the Ages. However, the farthest thing from their minds was the books in front of them. 

*Harry, I'm worried. Don't you think that the Polyjuice Potion should have worn off already? I mean…its been half the day already and…*

*You read my mind.*

*Of course I did. I didn't want to say anything before but…*

*Hermione, would you mind skipping class?*

Hermione gave him a blank stare. 

*Hermione, I know what you're thinking but…*

*Harry! I am NOT skipping class! No matter what has happened to us in the past, we have never…*

*Hermione I am getting desperate! Last time we did this, the Polyjuice Potion wore off in one  hour! It's been half the day now and it is till going strong!*

Hermione racked her brain for something. Something is wrong. She knows it is. She just had to think. 

*Harry, if this is the effect of Polyjuice Potion, why did it happen over night and not instantly like the last time? And why did I wake up in your bed with your body and you in my bed with my body, when it should have been me waking up in my bed with your body and you waking up in your bed with my body. That's the way a normal Polyjuice Potion would have worked. It just doesn't make any sense!*

*That's exactly what I've been thinking.*

*No you haven't, I haven't heard you.*

*That's because I didn't want you to hear it.*

*So you're saying we could block each others thoughts?*

*Yes, I guess so.*

*Harry, the spell isn't supposed to work that way. This spell allows an unlimited mind link. You shouldn't be able to block anything from me or vice-versa.*

*Well, Polyjuice isn't supposed to work the way it's working right now isn't it?*

Hermione grew panicked for a moment. 

*Harry, we're gonna have to skip class!*


	4. Learning

**Chapter 4: Learning**

*Harry, we're gonna have to skip class. We have to go to the library and find out what in Merlin's name is going on!*

Harry started devising the plan in his head. 

_*Ok, our next class is Double Charms, Right?*_

_*Right.*_

_*Flitwick should be easy enough to get by. This is the thing, you are going to have to fake one of my  scar-ache things in the middle of class. Then I, pretending to be the worried best friend, will volunteer to escort you to Pomfrey. After this, we will just sneak off to the library and work for the rest of the day.*_

_*I don't like that plan, how or we going to be in the library without getting caught by Mrs. Pince?*_

_*Invisibility Cloak. Then we'll hide in the back, in the desks not viewable by her so she won't be alarmed by floating books or pages that flip themselves. I think there are books that do that as it is so she shouldn't be too fright-.*_

_*Nope. What if Flitwick inquires with Pomfrey?*_

Harry grew silent.

_*We can't run that risk Harry.*_

_*All right then, you think of something!*_

Hermione thought for a moment.

_*What if we just stay and not go?*_

_*Herm, I don't think that…*_

_*Shh…listen first. I'll stage one of your "My Scar hurts, its danger," things and faint. Then I'll tell Ron to tell Flitwick I won't be going to class. Then, when you and Ron are leaving to go to class, I'll call you back. And then you'll stay with me. Then off we go to the library under the Invisibility Cloak!*_

Hermione beamed with what she believed to be a brilliant plan. 

_*Herm, what if Flitwick tells Ron to send me to Madame Pomfrey? And why would I ask specifically for you to stay with me when I could always have Ron?*_

Hermione's smile faded. _*Well, Ron probably knows that you wouldn't want to be fussed over during you Scar-Attacks so he'll just tell Flitwick you don't want to be bothered, a quick lie-in will do. That still doesn't answer the Ron's suspicions question…*_

_*Wait I have it! If it really were a Scar Attack, I'd probably want you with me because you could always bore me to sleep with your incessant drawl about Hogwarts, a History.*  Harry finished brilliantly. _

Hermione feigned offense and gave Harry a playful punch.

"Hmmm…Harry. I don't know about you, but I always thought it was wrong to hit a girl." 

It was Neville Longbottom. 

Hermione tried to hide the giggles from rising "Oh Neville," she said "_Herm knows I mean nothing by it, right __Herm?" Hermione turned her head toward Harry, so that Neville wouldn't see, and rolled her eyes. _

"Right _Harry!" Harry said, unable to stop the grin from coming over him. _

Neville accepted this little reply with some consternation and walked away to view Dean beating Ron.

*~*~*~*~*~*

_*Ready?*  thought Harry to Hermione as the Trio was sitting in the Gryffindor 5th years male dorm.  (The boys stopped minding Hermione was in the room, she was always there anyways!) _

_*Ready.* Hermione answered back. And with that…._

"Ahhh! Ohh! Oww!"

"Harry what is it?" a concerned Ron asked. 

"Its my scar! My scar! It hurts!" 

"Wait a sec. I'll go tell someone." 

"NO!" He heard Harry and Hermione scream in unison. 

"No? Why? Harry's scar hurts and…"

"Don't you see? You could get people panicked if you go off telling everyone Harry's Scar hurts!" Harry said. 

"Right…so what do you wanna do? Do you think you could make it to Charms?" Ron asked, with a worried glint in his eye.

Both Harry and Hermione felt a pang of guilt as they saw his concern. 

_*We have to go through with it.* Harry heard Hermione think to him. _

_*Right.* He thought back to her. _

"Ummm no.  I don't think I could sit through Double Charms today. All I feel like doing is falling asleep on my bed." 

"Right." Ron said. "So what should Herm and I tell Flitwick?" 

"Actually," Hermione told Ron, "I want _Herm to stay with me." _

"Why?" Ron asked curiously.

"Well, who else better to put you to sleep? _We __have fallen asleep listening to her talking about what she's read in Hogwarts, a History…"_

"Ohh!" Ron giggled, before _Harry  reached over and slapped him playfully._

_*You hit me!* Harry thought to Hermione.  _

"Ok, I'm off to Charms."  Ron said. 

"Wait!"  Hermione yelled out. "_Hermione, don't you have something to tell him?" _

_*What?* Harry asked her._

_*Tell him that I promise professor Flitwick to make up twice as much work missed today with a little extra credit on the side.*_

_*Huh! That better be when we switch back…*_

_*Harry!*_

_*All right!*_

"Umm Ron," Harry started, "Please tell Professor Flitwick that.."

"Yeah I know, you'll make up twice as much work missed today and some extra on the side, gotcha. And you Harry, I know you won't make up any work so why should I bother? See ya'll in Herbology!" And with that Ron left. 

_*He knows us so well!* Harry thought, pleased that he had such close friends. __*And we just lied to him.*  _

*~*~*~*~*~*

Ron arrived late to class, just in time to hear the very end of roll call. 

"Ah! Mister Weasley, come and sit down. Now where are the other 2 of your third?" the tiny wizard asked with smile. 

"Sorry Professor Flitwick, but Harry's head hurt, and Hermione volunteered to stay with him while he had a lie in. Hermione promised to make it up to you with…" 

"Why didn't Mr. Potter go to Madame Pomfrey?"

Ron was silent.

"Mr. Weasley, will you please step out onto the hall with me for a moment.  Class, begin reading your lesson on Glamours."

Ron followed the tiny wizard out onto the hall.

"Mr. Weasley, tell me, does this 'headache' have anything to do with Harry's Scar?"

Ron was taken aback. "I'm n-n-not sure." He stammered. 

Flitwick sighed. "Of course, you don't have to tell me, its just that…" he sighed, and the very serious look he had worn to talk with Ron suddenly turned into a nostalgic type smile. "You know Miss Granger doesn't have to make up any work with me. She is at the top of her class, probably the best student Hogwarts has seen. Why, she has better marks than Professor McGonagall. Maybe that is why McGonagall favors her so."

Ron wasn't surprised, but he was curious all the same. _Are you allowed to share student's grades with others?  __Or even a teacher's preference? But his train of thought stopped as he heard the little wizard begin to speak again._

"Miss Granger's grades are good enough to rival those of one Lily Evans, or should I say, Potter."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Seeing that the coast was clear, Harry and Hermione, under the Invisibility Cloak, rounded another hall. 

_*Hey! What is Ron doing talking outside of class with Flitwick?* Hermione asked Harry._

_*I don't know. I know it must be about why we're absent however. Maybe we should go check it ou-*_

*I don't think so Harry Potter! We have to find a way to reverse this bloody spell and we only have an two hours to do so! 

Harry finally gave in and they went on their way.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Ron was stunned for the millionth time that day. "Umm…Lily Evans? Lily Potter? As in Harry's mum?" 

Professor Flitwick gave a tired smile. "Yes, Harry's mum. You know, the three of you remind me of the three of them sometimes."

"Three of them?" _I thought there were four, weren't they? Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, the Marauders.   _

"I know what you're thinking, but no, I am not referring to the Marauders as Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Pettigrew used to refer to themselves, I am talking about another group _within the group."_

There was a long pause. Ron could have sworn he heard crickets chirping. 

"You see Mr. Weasley, before the Marauders there was only one Mr. Potter and one Mr. Black. James and Sirius were friends before Hogwarts. They came together on their first Train ride to Hogwarts and it is there that they met they met Mr. Remus Lupin and Mr. Peter Pettigrew, and the lovely Lilian Evans. Mr. Potter and Mr. Black were in their compartment when Miss Evans came upon them with Mr. Pettigrew, asking them if they had seen Mr. Pettigrew's lost pet rat."  

At this Ron coughed loudly. _Okay, that is just too weird. ___

Seeing the young boy was fine, Flitwick continued on with the story. "In the process of replying to their question in the negative, they heard a loud scuffle coming from outside. Inquiring, they found who was then the young Severus Snape taunting a young Remus Lupin about his condition, he was of course, a werewolf. (

_No surprise here, thought Ron._

But of course, I'm sure you know all about that. Now Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, seeing him in trouble, came to his rescue and performed a couple of well thrown hexes on Mr. Snape that let him go on his way. His face was completely red for at least a week!" (The latter said with a grin on his face.) 

Ron kept quiet, hoping Professor Flitwick would continue his quiet reverie, and making a mental note to keep this all in mind to relate to Harry and Hermione later on.

Flitwick continued. "From then on the five of them became really good friends. They were all delighted to be sorted into Griffyndor. The first couple of years were great, Lily was treated as one of the guys, which was ok with her since she cared very little for frivolous things (which most of the girls in her year were into.)  She was the one that would mother the boys and scold them when they did one of their many antics, but she always supported them and laughed along with them in the end.  Within the group of five however, you could always see the division. Mr. Lupin was wary of having friends, fearing that that in the end they would turn away from him because of who he was. Mr. Pettigrew, being a solitary boy for most of his life, understood where Remus was coming from and was his most constant companion, (Ron wondered why they turned out so different from each other) this left Mr. Potter, Miss Evans, and Mr. Black. When it was just the three of them they were the unstoppable trio. James and Sirius were the 'real' mischief-makers of their group and Lily was never far behind when they went off larking about. Of course they never did any of the saving the world stuff you Harry and Hermione tend to do, but they did cause their own trouble. The three of them had a kingship, one that Mr. Remus and Mr. Peter couldn't touch. In fifth year, things between the three of them seemed to change. The change was slightly evident during their fourth year, but it all unraveled in their fifth."

Ron gave an unintentional gulp. 

"Lily was always treated like one of the guys, and she liked that to an extent. In fifth year, Lily came back to Hogwarts looking well, less like a guy and more like a girl. James and Sirius saw that change immediately, Sirius more so than James. James didn't want to destroy the kingship the three of them seemed to have, what better way then to destroy a friendship then by dating one of your best friends? So he tended to stay away from Lily. Sirius got the message soon enough, and slowly they backed away from her as well. Ironically, they were unintentionally destroying something they were trying to save. Sirius and James threw themselves into the process of becoming Animagii to accompany Remus on full moons, the ingenious idea thrown to them by Peter."

_That was Wormtail's idea? Ron thought. _

"I know what you're thinking Ron and yes, it was Wormatail's idea. The Marauder's map however was James' idea, he being the second biggest prankster, but also the second biggest most cautious one (Remus beat him to it). Does that answer your next question?"

Ron's jaw dropped. _Can he read minds? _

"Unfortunately Mr. Weasley, I can't read minds."

Then how is he- 

"Then how can I tell exactly what you're thinking? Its written all over your face. Some of us don't have the power to read minds. May I continue?"

Ron nodded.

"Very well, as I was saying. It was Wormtail's idea to become Animagii.  Sirius, the biggest prankster, loved the idea and so they became. When they developed the Marauder's Map they ruled the school in their Animagus forms. That was, until Lily found their map.  No Mr. Weasley, Lily didn't rat them out."

Ron felt a wave of nausea overwhelm him, but saw a twinkle in Flitwick's eye.

"Lily felt very miserable about not being as close to James and Sirius as she once had been. When she found the map she gave it to James. And she and James had a long talk, and they made up. After that James vowed to include her in all their capers as they once had. It didn't take long however, for the subject of Lily's new found 'femininity' began to surface. I believe Sirius fancied himself in love with her until he realized something that he had been blind to see along. Lily Evans had fallen for James Potter since the first moment she saw him, and vice-versa. James and Lily however, didn't want to admit their feelings for one another. I believe Sirius had it in mind to help them along by asking Lily out and starting a fight with the jealous James. His plan worked apparently and as compensation he ended up with a purple eye for a week. After that the two of them where inseparable and married right after graduation."  

"How do you know all this?" Ron finally asked.

Flitwick smiled, "When Lily was despondent over her trials with James and Sirius, she came and talked with me about it. So much alike she and Miss Granger…"

As Flitwick mused to himself, Ron did as well. _Is he trying to tell me something?_

Flitwick suddenly gasped, as if just realizing where he was and what he was doing. "Oh my! I have a class to teach and it's half over!" 

Ron and Flitwick turned to enter the class, just in time to see Dean and Seamus making Neville's toad fly across the room.

*~*~*~*~*~*

_*This is it! I give up!*_ Hermione thought to Harry, as she angrily closed the book shut. 

Never mind the racket. Harry and Hermione had levitated about a million book over to them and made so much noise you'd think a deaf person would hear. But, Madame Pince hadn't budged from her position, unless it was turn the page of a book a she was reading, Lockhart's latest, **"Memoirs of a Devilishly Handsome Adventurer!"**

Harry and Hermione spent the first ten minutes of their free 2 hours giggling over Madam Pince's reading material. 

_*She always seemed like a sensible one!*_ Hermione thought to him between silent giggles.   

So far Harry and Hermione had gotten nowhere. They felt like they looked through every book in the library. Then again why did they bother, they couldn't even find anything in **"7,892 Most Erroneously Common Potion Mix-ups."**

_*Guess our mix-up isn't that common!*_ Harry said, trying to lighten the mood. 

_*Harry, shut up! What are we going to do? I can't be you forever, I wanna be me again!*_

Harry felt panic rising in him.

_*Harry, can you teach me how to block you out of my mind?*_

Harry thought for a second. 

*Hermione, it isn't like I can block you completely from my mind, its just certain thoughts that I don't want you to hear badly enough that seem to not get to you, otherwise I would have heard you react to them. During the course of the day have you thought anything you didn't want me to hear, and I didn't react to those thoughts?*

Hermione thought back to her day, nothing came to her mind.

*Nope.*

*Ok, now think of something you really wouldn't want me to know.*

Ok, Hermione thought, here it goes…Ummm, Harry looks real good naked….As Hermione silently smiled to herself at the thought, she was interrupted by Harry's yell.

*Hermione Granger! How dare you think that?!!!*

Hermione flushed a pretty shade of pink. *Harry you…you heard me? Great Scott this will never work!* 

*Hermione, I'm just kidding. I didn't hear anything. I just wanted to see how **bad** your thoughts were by seeing your reaction.* Harry said, with a grin of satisfaction in his face. 

Hermione lunged at him and they fell to the floor. Their feet now sticking out under the Invisibility Cloak, but luckily hidden from Pince's view by a bookshelf, Harry and Hermione silently wrestled each other. 

*Harry Potter! You are most the inconsiderate, uncouth, selfish, annoying person I have ever met!* Hermione yelled at him in her mind between smacks. *To think I actually thought you looked good naked!*

At this, Harry pinned her arms to her sides and calmed her down. *You thought I looked good naked?*

Hermione tensed, feeling the blush from the root of her hair to the tips of her toes. She stayed silent. Suddenly, she was aware of Harry being on top of her. 

*Oh, sorry.* Harry muttered as he picked himself up, pulling Hermione up as well to keep her both under the cloak as well.  

Hermione wouldn't look Harry in the eye. 

_*Hermione, I think you look good, um, naked too.* _

Hermione looked at him, and laughed. 

Harry hugged her, relieved that she wasn't upset anymore. 

_*I think we should go back to the tower.*_ Hermione said, feeling slightly uncomfortable.  

_*Right.* _Harry agreed. 


	5. Repeating History

Chapter 5: Repeating History 

Once they got back to Gryffindor Tower, they settled into Harry's dormitories, waiting for Ron to complete the little charade. 

"I'm back." Ron announced upon entering his dormitory. There he found _Hermione_ reading from Hogwarts, a History, to a silently snoring _Harry_. It took all he could to stifle laughter. 

*_He's buying it.*_ Harry thought to Hermione with relief. 

"So how was class?" Harry asked Ron. 

"Don't worry Hermione, you didn't miss a thing, Flitwick didn't teach much today. He was to busy telling me about Harry's mum and dad.

At this Hermione shut up from her feigned sleep. "Flitwick talked to you about Har-my parents?" Hermione turned to look at Harry and gripped his hand.    

"So tell us what he said!" Hermione demanded. 

Ron was quick to notice how Harry continued to hold Hermione's hand,  but he dismissed it as he needing a friend's comfort. However it looked like the wrong friend needed comfort….

Ron told them about Flitwick saying why Hermione was favored by McGonagall, and how she was probably the smarted witch to ever cross the Hogwarts' threshold, even compared to McGonagall herself! (Ron saw Harry beam) Ron also told them about the comparison between Harry's mum, who was also very smart, and how this brought on the nostalgic reverie of Harry's parents. Ron told them of how they met on the train (gasps abounded from Harry and Hermione at the coincidences) and how the 5 of  them were friends, and of the three within the 5. (More gasps) Ron opted, however, to not tell them about the James-Lily-Sirius triangle. He didn't really think it would relate to them. At least he _hoped_ it wouldn't. 

"So Flitwick was Har-my mum's confidant? Kind of like Hermione with Prof. McGonagall?" Hermione asked Ron. 

"Right." 

Ron watched Hermione turned various shades of pale. 

"Hermione are you ok?" 

Ron watched Harry turn to Hermione with a concerned expression on his face.

_*Harry are you ok?*_

_*I'm fine, I'm fine. I just-*_

Hermione reached over and cupped Harry's face with her hands. She saw how how hard he was trying not to cry. 

_*Oh Harry.*_

_*Hermione I'm fine. Really, I'm ok.*_

Ron watched this play out silently. Harry and Hermione just stared at each other, various emotions coming off each other's faces at intervals. It was almost as if-as if they could _read each other's minds_. 

"It worked didn't it?" Ron said, as he sprang to his feet. A clouded expression on his face. 

"What did?" Harry and Hermione said together, as innocently as possible, not able to hide a guilty expression from their faces. 

"The Concientus Potion, it worked didn't it?" 

They both stared blankly at him. 

"I don't understand it though. Why didn't you tell me? Did you think I wouldn't find out? I just watched you guys stare at each other for 10 minutes! Did you think I wouldn't put 2 and 2 together? Why didn't you tell me?" 

"We didn't tell you because we didn't want you to feel guilty." Harry said. 

"Guilty, why guilty? I…"

"Well, it didn't work perfectly, and we figured that if we told you and told you about the kinks it would make you feel guilty and we didn't want that!" 

Ron thought about this for a moment. He finally accepted their answer.

He saw Harry's brown eyes glow in relief. Wait a second, brown?  He looked again and saw the brown become green again, but not before he Hermione's eyes. They were green.

"Oh-my-god! You guys switched, you guys switched bodies!" 

Harry and Hermione turned to stare to at each other.  

_*How did he find out?*_ Hermione asked Harry. 

"Your eyes! Look at your eyes!" They turned to look in a mirror. Nothing, their eyes were normal. Hermione's were rich brown, Harry's bright green. They both turned to stare at Ron. 

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. 

Ron stared at them. "I know what I saw. You can't hide this from me. This explains everything! It explains why Hermione reacted the way Harry would've. Harry isn't Harry. Hermione is Harry. Hermione reacted the way Harry would because Harry is Hermione. It all makes sense." Ron turned to stare at Hermione. "It makes sense now, why you didn't want to tell me. It all makes perfect sense." Ron threw Harry a knowing look. 

Hermione felt herself tense up. She felt left out. 

"What makes sense? Harry, why did you really not tell Ron? 

Harry stared at Ron.  "Its not my fault that this happened you know. You were the one that messed up the potion! I didn't tell you to protect you because I knew how'd you react! I didn't want her to find out like that!" 

Ron blushed, and he turned to see Hermione flushing bright red. He knew she knew, she read it in his mind. 

"Ron, I…" 

Ron suddenly felt tired. He felt really tired, so he sat down. 

"Hermione its ok, I didn't expect my feelings to be reciprocated. I knew it, I knew it all along. I didn't want to believe it until today. Until Flitwick told me." Ron sighed loudly. "He told me it wouldn't be me. He knew. He knew it would turn out like this. That is why he told me. He wanted to prepare me." 

Harry and Hermione listened to Ron's incessant ramble. 

_*Told him, told him what?* _

Ron turned to stare at them. "History repeats itself." 

With this, Ron got up, and walked out. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

They found him sitting on a rock, in the Forbidden Forest. They looked all over the place, the inside the castle and outside by the lake. They spent hours looking for him. Finally, they received an owl while they were on their way to call Dumbledor that told them where he was. Why he would ever pick to be here was beyond them both. 

"Sit." He commanded them. 

They sat down and waited for his story. The story was inevitable. 

"I didn't tell you _everything_ that Flitwick told me today." 

Hermione reached for Harry's hand. 

Ron saw this and sighed. He told them everything, about James, Lily, and Sirius, about Sirius wanting Lily, about James not wanting to break the friendship, about James and Lily being in love without acknowledging it, about Sirius staging asking Lily for a date to infuriate James and acknowledge the true nature of his feelings. 

"…Sirius sacrificed his love for Lily. He knew Lily loved James, and he knew James loved Lily and he knew that there was nothing that could change that. He settled himself with seeing his friends happy. I guess I must do so as well." 

Hermione and Harry squirmed under Ron's stare. 

"Ron, Hermione and I aren't…" 

"You are your father's son aren't you? Of course you are! You have been ever since first year! I have never heard a single negative word about Hermione come out of your mouth! I was the one who hated her remember? You went all knight in shinning armor and saved her from the troll. I didn't even want to go remember? And you!" He turned to look at Hermione in Harry's body. "Who was Krum jealous of? Harry. Why? Because you talked incessantly about him? Tell me the truth now, why were you jealous of Fleur Delacour? It wasn't because of me was it? She never expressed any sort of interest in me, and yet you remained jealous, why?" 

Hermione stayed silent. 

"Because she did express interest in Harry. Harry, who went all knight in shinning armor AGAIN and saved her sister. And face it, you were also a little peeved when you realized I was the one person Harry would miss the most. How do you even know if that is totally accurate?" 

Hermione was about to open her mouth but shut it quickly when she saw the look on Ron's face.

"Let me tell you something, did you _really_ think the one person Krum would miss the most was _you_? Sure, you were his date to the ball, but he barely knew you and you barely knew him! There wasn't anyone else he seemed to have gotten close too since he got to Hogwarts so of course the officials chose his date, there was no one else! The officials thought Harry would miss me the most because I am his _best friend_. But did you ever stop and think why Harry hesitated before he came straight to me?"

Harry blushed. "I…"

"Harry I didn't it mean it like that, but fess up, weren't you indecisive?" 

"Ron, both of you are my best friends!"

"You aren't getting it Harry. The point is you knew who it was you were going to go down and get, and you still had to contemplate it." 

"But it wasn't just the two of you, I stayed for everyone…"

"Because you are a Gryffindor, that's why, but who were the first two you contemplated? Don't tell me it was Cho, another pretty face. And you barely knew Fleur's sister. It was between Herm and I, wasn't it?"

Harry gulped. _When did Ron become such a master of interrogations? Probably been hanging out with Hermione too much… *Ouch! What was that for?* _

_*Hanging out with Hermione…what balderdash!*_

_*Balderdash…now I know you and Ron have been hanging out together way too much…*_

"Can you please communicate verbally? Thank you." 

Harry and Hermione had a sheepish look on their faces. "Sorry." They apologized.

"Back to what I was saying. Harry, what would you have done if the situation had been real?"

"ENOUGH!" Harry yelled in Hermione's loud voice. "You are both my friends and I would rather die saving you both then save one and leave the other!" 

"All right then Harry, prove it now." 

Before Harry could ask what on earth he meant, two large Acromantulas appeared out of nowhere, each one attacking one of his best friends. 

He didn't think, his first instinct was to take out his wand. 

He heard her scream first "Harry!". 

"Hermione!" he yelled. He ran to the spider that had taken himself, Hermione, away.  

"Petrificus Totalus!" He yelled, in Hermione's clear voice. The same pronunciation as the night she Petrified Neville Longbottom before entering the trapdoor way back in their first year. Once petrified, he went to the spider and took Hermione, from its arms and laid her down. She was out cold. 

_Is this the way I'll look when Voldemort kills me?_ Harry thought, slightly thinking off his task. 

He turned to look at the spider; it was gone.

The spider had…disappeared? _What in the…?_ At that moment Harry realized something, and  turned around. He didn't find his best friend being taken away by a big hairy spider. He was sitting on his rock, calmly, waiting for Harry. 

"I told you so." He said, with a smug, yet grim look on his face. 

Harry lunged at Ron and hit him with all his might. Hermione's frail frame was on Ron's, giving him the hardest punches that Ron ever felt in his life. 

"I almost had a heart attack!" Harry yelled at him, blow after blow. "I didn't know what to do!

Harry stopped abruptly, and what were harsh blows became silent tears. He got off of Ron and turned away. 

"I'm sorry Ron." Harry said silently between long sobs. "I didn't…I never…I couldn't have…"

"Harry, its ok. I knew." 

They gave each other a very rare hug, of course, boys never like to show their true feelings, even though at this moment one of the boys was physically a girl. Their intimate moment was broken by a very angry Hermione.

"Ronald Weasley I could kill you!"  

The boys both turned around to find Harry, no, Hermione in radiant anger. 

Harry stepped away from Ron and went to stand by Hermione.

"How'd you pull that off anyway?" Harry asked. 

"It was a Glamour, wasn't it Ron?" Hermione said, annoyance evident in Harry's voice. 

"Yes it was, Glamours aren't that hard to pull off. 'Course Harry didn't really take long in making his decision."

Harry blushed, but regained his composure. "A Glamour, what is that?" 

Ron sighed. "I read about it today in the Charms book after my talk with Flitwick. It makes you see things that aren't really there. I planned this little charade during the second hour of Double Charms. I wanted to know if the same fate suffered by Sirius would happen to me as well."  

Both Harry and Hermione looked guilty. "Ron we…"

"It's ok. I know." 

The three friends hugged. As soon as they broke their hug, they found themselves no longer in the Forbidden Forest. They were in Dumbledor's office. 

"How did we get here?" Ron mumbled, but was slightly disturbed when Fawkes came over and perched herself on Hermione's shoulder. Obviously, Fawkes knew Hermione wasn't Hermione. The most peculiar thing however, was that Dumbledor wasn't in the office. Instead, Flitwick was sitting in Dumbledor's place. Twinkling blue eyes staring at them were Flitwick's brown eyes would have been. 

"Dumbledor?" Ron asked.

Instantly they saw Dumbledor standing where the tiny wizard used to be. "I knew you would figure it out sooner or later." He said, amusement in his voice. 

"It was you wasn't it? You were the one that told me everything?" 

Dumbledor nodded. "That I did. That I did. I figured it was time the three of you knew."  Dumbledor sighed, the sigh of a tired man. "The same thing that almost destroyed the friendship of James, Lily, and Sirius, was in danger of destroying yours. And Harry," Dumbledor turned to look at the bushy haired girl with Fawkes on her shoulder, "You need them with you with what's to come. You need _her_ with you." 

He turned to look at Harry. "And as for you Ms. Granger, look at what your scientific ambitions have led you to become?" Dumbledor tried to sound stern, but he immediately erupted in laughter. "Dissolvo Medicamentum!" He yelled with a wave of his wand. 

Harry looked down at himself. "I'm me!" He yelled, relief in his voice. 

"Professor Dumbledor, how did you do that? We couldn't find anything! We looked everywhere! We even looked in, **7,892 Most Erroneously Common Potion Mix-ups**, and we still couldn't find anything to fix us! How did you know?"

"Ms. Granger, that was your mistake. You see, you read the old version of Erroneously Common Potion Mix-ups, the one published 10 centuries ago. The revised version is **9,723 Most Erroneously Common Potion Mix-ups**. You're particular combination is found on page 7,042." 

Hermione turned ten shades of red. _I am going to kill Harry! _She thought. 

"Why?" Harry asked her…out loud.

_*Harry, you can still hear me?*_

Harry was silent. 

"Professor Dumbledor! We can still…"

"Yes, yes Harry, I know you can."

"Why? Can't you fix it for us?" 

"I'm afraid I can't Ms. Granger." 

"Why? You must! We…"

"Ms. Granger I can't fix something that is beyond my control. This telepathy between you and Harry isn't something that was caused by a potion." 

Ron stood back, watching and listening to what unfolded around him. He needed to remember something, something someone told him….

"Unfortunately Mr. Weasley, I can't read minds."

Then how is he- 

_"Then how can I tell exactly what you're thinking? Its written all over your face. **Some of us don't have the power to read minds**. May I continue?"_

"Harry can read minds." Ron stated. 

Harry gave Ron a confused look. Hermione looked intrigued. Dumbledor looked proud. 

"You remembered Mr. Weasley!" He gave Ron a bright smile. 

"Remembered what?" Hermione asked. 

"Well, when Professor Flitwick, I mean, Professor Dumbledor was telling me all the things that happened to Harry's parents, I kept on getting the feeling he could read my mind. He was always a step ahead of me, answering questions that were on the tip of my tongue…"

"All right already! Where does the me being able to read minds thing come from?" 

"Well, I finally asked him if he could read minds. And he replied…"

"Some of us don't have the power to read minds." Dumbledor finished for him. "Very well noted Ron." 

"However Ron, Harry cannot read minds. He can, however, read _a_ mind. It was something he inherited from his father. His ancestors have held the power to be able to read a certain person's mind, a person their mind chooses. The same way a wand chooses the wizard, a Potter's mind chooses another's mind to connect with. Harry's mind chose Hermione, and Hermione's mind responded very well. Why it took James' and Lily well into their 6th year until they were finally able to hear each other properly as well as you two hear each other."

The Trio looked at him wide eyed.

"This connection is what allows for you two to share your thoughts with each other, among other things." 

 "So you're saying we're stuck with this?" Harry asked Dumbledor.

Dumbledor laughed. "Apparently so. But don't worry, as I'm sure you've figured out, _personal_ thoughts can be blocked out."

The two of them blushed remembering the incident in the library. 

_*I never want to hear you mention that to anyone, you hear me Potter? *_

_*Loud and clear Granger. *_

Hermione smacked Harry playfully on his arm. 

Ron noticed this little exchange and gave an exasperated sigh. "This is going to drive me insane isn't it?" 

Dumbledor gave Ron an amused smile. "Apparently so." 

Harry and Hermione turned to Ron. "Ron we're sor-"

"It's ok," Ron said, "I understand." 

"If you don't mind, I have some Ministry business to tend to." Dumbledor gave Harry a meaningful look. "Could you please excuse me?" 

Harry answered for the three of them. "Its alright Prof. Dumbledor, I think its time we left to dinner a well." 

The Trio left Dumbledor's office silently. Harry and Hermione tried not to think of anything as not to disturb the other. This was going to be a hard thing to live with. 


	6. Between Me and You

**_Chapter 6: Between Me and You _**

The Trio silently made their way towards the Great Hall. Finally, Hermione broke the silence.

"Ron, there is nothing going on between me between me and Harry."  

"I know." Ron said, with half a smile on his face, and an unreadable tone to his voice. 

"I'm not hungry, I think I should go to bed." He added. 

Hermione looked at Ron with a concerned expression. _Is he just going to ignore this? _

"Ron are you sure?" Hermione asked, it was rare for Ron to turn down food.

"I'm fine." Ron said. "You two go eat, I'm going to the Tower." 

Ron walked off towards Gryffindor Tower, leaving Harry and Hermione stranded, in uncomfortable silence. 

"Harry we have to tell him, we have to tell him that we…we're not…you know. Are we?"

Harry however, wasn't paying attention to Hermione. He was lost in his own reverie. 

(Making sure to block his musings from Hermione beforehand.) He thought of his feelings. _What exactly did he feel for Hermione? She was his best friend, he loved her. He __loved her? How exactly did he __love her? He knew that if anything happened to her he would die himself. Is that what __love is? When did he begin feeling like this anyway? Was it this past summer, those endless nights of guilt over Cedric, crying in her lap, while she stroked his hair tenderly and told him it wasn't hisfault, that everything would be ok? Was it last year, during the Triwizard Tournament and he was worried she might drown underwater? Was it in second year, when his heart constricted every time he looked at her empty seat in class and thought of her, petrified in the infirmary? Was it way back in first year, when they encountered the troll? Or was it when they walked through the trap door, and she gave him his first hug, well, one he could remember. Was it at the end of last year when she gave him his first kiss, granted, it was on his cheek but it was his first kiss nonetheless. Or was it on their first train ride to Hogwarts? Yes…the train…she was the first person in the Wizarding World that he met that did NOT make a big deal about his scar, or the fact that HE WAS Harry Potter, "the boy who lived." She never treated him special or anything. He felt normal around her, he didn't have to worry that she was his friend just because he was Harry Potter, he knew there was truth in their friendship. _

Hermione was thinking the same thing as Harry was. _What exactly did she feel for Harry?  He was her best friend, and she __loved him but what kind of __love exactly? Was it friendship love, or more than that? And what about Ron? __Do I love Ron? What do I feel for Ron? She didn't have to think twice. Ron was her friend. That was it. Last year she felt hurt and angry during the Yule Ball because…because…Harry hadn't asked me to the Ball! She thought with enlightenment in her voice. __I took it out on poor Ron. And with some surprise she thought to what Ron said earlier. Ron was right. __I was jealous of Fleur because I was afraid her interest in Harry might spark his interest . And I readily accepted Krum's offer to the Yule Ball when I heard Harry was asking Cho. Hermione felt like she was listening to her heart for the first time. __Why didn't I realize it before? _

"Maybe because we're a bunch of self-centered gits." Harry answered her.

Hermione looked up in surprise. "How did you-?"

"Read your mind? I didn't, I was answering my own question, maybe we were thinking the same thing at the same time."  

Hermione smiled shyly. Then, without warning, she lunged towards Harry and hugged him greedily to her. 

Harry readily assented and buried his hands in her hair. 

"This is strange isn't it?" Hermione mused,  "I mean I'm so used to you being my best friend, I can't think of you as …well…you know."  

"I know." Harry agreed, "Yet it feels right doesn't it? Like somehow we're…"

"Complete." They both said at the same time.  

This brought curious smiles as to the depth of their connection. 

"Do you think its growing or something?" Hermione asked. 

"I don't know." Harry answered.

"How are we going to go about this?" Hermione asked. 

"I suggest we take this slowly." Harry said. "Let's not rush into this. Lets take this day by day." 

Hermione smiled, and hugged him closer. Finally, she voiced the thought that was nagging at them both. 

"How are we going to tell him?" 

Harry didn't know how to answer her.

"Why don't we wait before telling him?"

Hermione looked up at him.

"I know he thinks that by some weird twist of fate we're destined to be together. But I have yet to believe he acknowledges this as _real. Maybe we could just be a bit discrete about this, you know, until we think he's ready to accept this. I mean, its not like we're entirely clear on this whole subject as well." _

"I understand Harry, and I agree with you." She turned her brown eyes on him. It was all Harry could do to keep down his sudden and unexpected urge to kiss her. But, she surprised him by giving him a quick peck on the lips. 

Hermione blushed prettily and buried her face in his chest. 

"I think maybe we should head back to the Tower," she said, pulling away from their embrace and turning quickly to walk away. 

Harry stopped her before she could get away. He gently eased her back into his arms. 

"Harry wha…what is this?"

Something strange was happening to Hermione. It was like she was feeling…she was feeling…she was feeling Harry's feelings. She felt how Harry felt right now, after she kissed him. It made her want to do it again. 

"How did you do that?" 

"I don't know." 

"Did you feel me?" She asked him.

"Yes." He said. 

This time, it was Harry's time to blush.

"Its growing, isn't it?" She asked him. 

Harry remembered what Dumbledor told them.

 "This connection is what allows for you two to share your thoughts with each other, **among other things**."

"I think it is growing." 

Hermione chuckled softly to herself. 

"What is it?"

"It's just funny the amount of breath we waste." 

"What?"

"I mean, why do we bother talking when I know what you're gonna say and what you're thinking before you say it," 

Harry thought of this and smiled.

"And with a touch, I know how you feel."

Harry thought of their connection with awe. It ran so deep. It was going to be hard to hide this from Ron. He didn't want him to get hurt.  

"Its getting late, and your thoughts are worrying me." Hermione said. 

Harry looked his arm with hers. "Lets go to bed." He said. 

Hermione smacked his arm in mock anger. 

"I can hear your thoughts you know!" 

Harry smiled at her. _This was definitely going to be hard. _

Right before they entered the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione paused. 

"Don't you find it kind of odd that all of this happened in _one day?" _

Harry sighed. "No, I don't find it odd. Why should I with everything else that's happened to me?" 

Hermione smiled at him and entered the Common Room. Harry followed her in. 

They looked around and saw it was empty. How long did they stay talking outside?

Hermione turned to Harry and gave him a shy smile. "Good night Harry."

Harry smiled back and squeezed her hand. "Good night Herm." 

They both parted ways as they went up their staircases to their corresponding dormitories.

******

Harry entered his dormitory and found everyone asleep, well, almost everyone. 

"Took you long enough." Harry heard Ron exclaim. 

"Please Ron, I'm tired, not tonight." 

Ron settled back into his bed. "Good night Harry." 

Harry smiled. 

"Good night Ron." 

_*Tell Ron I say good night.* _

"Hermione says good night." 

"Tell her I say good night too." 

_*Ron says goodnight*_

_*I heard.*_

Ron soon fell asleep, but Harry and Hermione couldn't sleep. 

Finally, fatigue overtook Harry.

_*Good night Hermione.*_

_*Good night Harry.* _

_*You know, hasn't this felt like the longest day?*_

Hermione smiled. _*It has been.*_


End file.
